


Call It Magic

by Pihu_imgr8



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Magic, Wands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-11-28 13:48:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11419266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pihu_imgr8/pseuds/Pihu_imgr8
Summary: Charlie's dinner turns into a series of adventures when one of the chopsticks turns out to be a magic wand.





	1. Something Unusual

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "While eating you discover that one of your chopsticks is a magic wand."  
> The link to the prompt is:  
> http://writing-prompt-s.tumblr.com/post/154062085611/while-eating-you-discover-that-one-of-your

“The construction techniques used in bio gas plant should be simple with low demand of materials, low in cost and . . .”

The page swam out of focus as tears welled up in my eyes. I put the book down, rubbed my eyes and looked around. The drawing room was poorly furnished, with a small flat screen TV (and a Netflix subscription), a couple of bean bags and a bed table passing as a coffee table. The dining space consisted of a plastic folding table and a couple of mismatched chairs. It was sheer luck that my parents had a flat in the very city I got a college in. I’d moved in a few days ago, after life in the college hostel had become hell . . .

I chose not to dwell on those memories and decided to focus on my dinner. It was simple Chinese takeout. I picked up the chopsticks, and started eating. I was really tired and super stressed – my lab exams started in a week. I picked up my phone to look at the schedule I had already committed to memory.

Biology – 6th Feb

Chemistry – 8th Feb

Unix and C – 10th Feb

Physics – 13th Feb

Mechanical Engineering – 15th Feb

I stared at the date listed for biology – I’d never been good at it. With my chopsticks in my hand, I said aloud, “I wish the bio lab gets postponed.”

For a moment, I thought the chopsticks grew slightly warmer in my hand, but I dismissed it as my phone buzzed. It was a message from college.

“The biology lab exam has been postponed to 17th February”, it read.

I was really surprised. I stood up, phone in one hand, chopsticks in the other, and exclaimed, “I wish the bio lab _never_ happens!”

My phone buzzed again.

“The biology lab exam has been postponed indefinitely.”

I could hardly believe it! My wishes were coming true!

I sat down to eat again, and between bites, I said, “I wish for . . . donuts!”

I barely registered the chopsticks growing faintly warm in my hand as there was a loud crash from the balcony. I jumped up and went to investigate.

There was only one pot in the balcony, the one containing a rose bush my dad had fondly gifted me, and it was broken. I examined the plant itself – there was minimum damage to it, and wondered where I’d go to buy a new pot.

The doorbell rang. I got up, the chopsticks forgotten in the back pocket of my jeans, and went to open the door. A young boy and an apologetic – looking woman, clearly the kid’s mum, stood outside. I opened the door and greeted them uncertainly.

“Hello dear, we’ve just moved in to the society – today, in fact – and Ben here claims that his ball landed in your balcony.” The woman hesitated.

“Oh, so that’s probably what broke the flower pot!” I exclaimed.

The boy darted behind his mother. The woman was taken aback, but she regained her composure quickly. “I’m so sorry, dear, maybe we could replace the pot for you?” She offered.

A broke college student, I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity.

“Sure, that’d be great. Hold on, I’ll get the ball.” I told her.

As I made my way back with the ball, I could hear them whispering.

 _“Are you sure, hon?_ ’” The woman asked the boy. He nodded silently.

I knelt down. “Hey, Ben, I’m Charlie. Here’s your ball. Maybe we could play together sometime?”

Ben looked alarmed and darted behind his mother again, peeked out at me and smiled.

“Thanks a lot, dear. We’re sorry for the inconvenience, but we have some donuts as a peace offering.” She said.

I felt detached, suddenly, as if I were dreaming. My hand touched my back pocket lightly. Ben came out from behind his mother and took the box from her.

“Sorry, Charlie.” He offered it to me shyly.

Accepting the box, I somehow managed to smile at him.

“It’s okay, kiddo.”


	2. A Magical Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie finally figures out that it's a magic wand, not a set of magic chopsticks, and makes simple tweaks to an ordinary day.

It was when I opened the fridge the next morning, looking for milk, that I saw the box of donuts and remembered the events of the night before. I looked around for the chopsticks before I remembered that I’d put them on the nightstand. I kept them on the dining table next to my bowl of cornflakes as I obsessed over the bio lab exam and the donuts. I’d thought about it before I went to sleep, and the only connection was these chopsticks. That, and I couldn’t shake off the feeling the chopsticks grew warm whenever I wished for something.

I cleared away my breakfast and packed my bag for college, but my mind was still on the chopsticks. An insistent voice in my head kept hinting that it was magic, but I didn’t want to believe it. I grabbed the keys to the flat and turned to leave, but as an impulse, I put the chopsticks in my bag.

All the pondering over my magic chopsticks had made me late. I ran to college and managed to squeeze between my friends just as the teacher came in.

“Your assignments are due today, please pass them forward.”

 _Shit, I’m dead._ I thought. I knew I’d started the assignment, but I was pretty sure I hadn’t completed it, and I definitely hadn’t taken a printout.

I thrust my hand into my bag, pretending to look for the assignment while actually hunting for something to ‘accidentally’ hand in. I was hoping I could print my assignment and hand it in during lunch with an apology.

My hand brushed against one of the chopsticks. It was kind of cold. I held on to it and whispered, “I wish I had an assignment to hand in.”

The chopstick did not grow warm. I started looking for the other one, thinking they had to be together to grant a wish. My hand brushed against it, and I paused. The second chopstick was definitely warm.

 _Maybe it’s like a magic wand . . ._ I mused.

“What are you looking for, Charlie? I’ve got your assignment right here.” My friend Lily’s voice broke me out of my reverie. I looked up and she waved a transparent file at me.

“Honestly, Charlie, all this stress is starting to get to you!” James piped up from my other side.

“Yeah . . . I guess so.” I said as we passed up our assignments.

 

All through the day, I used the chopstick magic wand for fairly modest requests. The physics teacher was busy with some other work, so I got the free period I’d wished for. The really strict mechanical teacher agreed to give us an assignment instead of the scheduled quiz. One of Lily’s hostel buddies was celebrating his birthday in the canteen, so I got to satisfy my craving for cake. Just once, I got to defeat James at chess.

It was turning out to be a great day until I saw Severin.


	3. Wishful Thinking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> According to Charlie, James and Lily need to know about the wands.

Severin was the reason I left the college hostel. The first time he saw me, he decided that I was his personal punching bag.  He’d been bullying me since he met me. It started off as unprompted nasty remarks and escalated to harmful pranks. He pushed me down the stairs, doused me in freezing water in the winter, stole and disposed off my notes a week before exams, hacked into my laptop and abused the fact that I was logged into my accounts.

I’d had anxiety before I joined college, but Severin made me into a nervous wreck. It was turning out to be a great day until I saw Severin, when I decided to make it the _best_ day.

James, Lily and I were making our way down from the first floor when he met him at the top of the stairs.

“Hey, Charlie, how’s stuff? I’ve been missing you since you moved out!” He drawled.

“Missing me . . . like you’re missing a brain?” I shot back.

“Oooooh, that one hurt!” He ----------.

“I don’t have time for this.” I muttered.

“Yeah, let’s go.” James said.

Severin was still standing at the top of the stairs, leaning against the railing.

“Y’know what, Charlie, if I had a face like yours, I’d sue my parents.” He leered at me. I put my hand inside my pocket, grasped the wand and wished, _I hope he falls down the stairs._

“I’d like to punch you in the face, but honestly, that’d do you more good than harm so I’m kinda confused . . .” He moved towards me and I flinched back.

“I’ll tell you who wants to punch whom!” Lily growled and swung at Severin. She punched him hard, and sent him flying down the stairs.

“Whoa.” James and I said together. As we made our way down the stairs and towards the exit, while James and Lily discussed her punching abilities, I became convinced that my magic wand was real.

“Guys, I need to tell you something.” I stated. The two of them stopped their conversation and turned to me.

“Sure, Charlie, what is it?” Lily asked.

This was why I loved my friends. As someone with anxiety, it was hard to talk to people. I felt like I was the outsider in most circles, and even when I was part of any group, I always felt like they were just tolerating me, and that I never belonged. James and Lily, on the other hand, let me join their conversation whenever I wanted to and they let me brood when I didn’t feel like talking. I felt like I _had_ to share this with them.

“Well, I have discovered a magic wand.” I exclaimed.

“What?” Lily inquired.

I pulled the chopstick-wand out of my pocket and tried to explain.

“See, I was having dinner yesterday, I was really tired and I wished we didn’t have to give the biology practical . . . . ”

I explained the entire thing to them, and to their credit, both of them heard me out.

“Charlie, I don’t want to burst your bubble but - ” Lily started, but I interrupted her.

“Wait. I knew you wouldn’t believe me, wait. I wish it starts raining.” I smiled at Lily. She stared back at me, unimpressed.

Looking up at the sunny and cloudless sky, James said, “Did you know that the biology practical was postponed because Mr. Thomas had an accident yesterday? In the morning, way before you found your wand.” He glanced briefly at me.

I gripped my wand tighter and glanced up at the sky. James looked at me apologetically.

“Okay, so that’s just one coincidence. The assignment - ”

“When was the last time you slept? I know you get super stressed during the exams.” Lily looked at me accusingly.

“But the wand grew warm.” Lily glared at me and I quailed. “Last night.” I answered.

“And before that?”

“It’s not like I _didn’t_ sleep. I got two hours of sleep for a week.” I whined, frustrated that my friends weren’t ready to believe me.

“Sweetheart, I’m sorry, but you mailed the assignment to me three days ago, asking me to get a printout for you. It was incomplete, so I wrote the conclusion for you.” Lily explained.

“It grows _warm_!”

“Was the wand, by any chance, next to your warm lunchbox? Weren’t you super tired when you were having dinner last night?”

“No! What about the physics period - ”

“He’s busy with new admissions.”

“The mechanical assignment?”

“The class rep talked to sir yesterday and you know how convincing she can be.”

“The birthday party - ”

“Oh God, Charlie, _it’s not like you wished someone into existence for a slice of cake!_ ” Lily snapped at me.

“Lily!” James chided.

She glared at him and for a moment I thought she was going to punch him too.

“I wanted Severin to fall down the stairs. You punched him and he did.” I mumbled, my excitement over the wand ebbing.

“Charlie, please. She’s wanted to punch him since the first time he pushed you down those stairs. _I’ve_ wanted to punch him for longer. We never did ‘cause you don’t like us fighting your fights.” James said quietly.

“So there’s really no magic?” I asked, heartbroken.

“No magic.” Lily replied softly.

 

I walked back home, twirling the chopstick in my fingers. I’d wanted a solution so desperately I’d strung up a series of coincidences and called it magic. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like I had a tendency to complicate my life. Just like that, I began planning how I was going to tackle the exams and while failing _was_ a scary prospect, I knew that fretting would mean I’d definitely flunk.

I kept the ‘wand’ in my bag for another day or two, just to be sure, but my friends were right. It was just a chopstick.

 

As I was walking home one day, I saw Ben playing in the parking, shooting his new friends with his toy gun.

“Hey Ben!” I waved to him. To my surprise, the kid came running up.

“Mommy said she’s got you the flower pot.” He recited.

“Uh-huh, I’ll swing by on my way up. Whatchya playing?” I asked him.

“I’m a cop, and they’re all villains, running. I have to shoot them with my gun.” He said proudly. I took out the _wand_ from my bag.

“Hey, you know what, take this. It’s a magic wand. You can use spells to get the villains. Spells to make them freeze or maybe dance on the spot! How’s that sound?” I whispered.

He looked at the wand but shook his head.

“I don’t need any spells. _I’m_ _great with a gun!_ ” he enthused and ran off.

Chuckling, I made my way to collect the flower pot from his place. I dropped the wand in a dustbin on the stairs.

“No more magic or wishful thinking.” I told myself firmly.

**Author's Note:**

> I have tried to make Charlie gender neutral, but if you notice any issues with that, I'm open to constructive criticism.


End file.
